DIY Water-Birth:A Peacemaker is Born

She's Baaaaaack!!! Well, not fully or totally but I'm still kicking. Our family welcomed our 7th member Oct. 3rd and life has stayed crazy. I can't say it got crazierrrrr, because we were already there. So crazy is our new normal and we're back to normal after a few hiccups. I've been a horrible mommy blogger by not posting pictures and videos but I've got them archived and will hit you up proper in the months to come. I'm tempted to just vomit them all out in one post to get it over with.

We had our 2nd unassisted water birth and it was amazing. Now let me define amazing before you think I had a zero pain, candle lit, orgasmic experience. Amazing to me means none of the above. This was my 5th birth, here's a quick recapp of the previous four... and all that amazing was not.

PrincessT was born in the hospital after I was violently induced because my water had been broke for 12hrs and hospital policy required it. I wanted med free (like I knew what the heck I wanted back then) but hadn't researched any breathing techniques and I was miserable. I can compare the experience to being hit in the stomach with a bat when I was ten except it happened over and over and over. Did I mention my husband's entire family showed up to the hospital, 20+ people coming in and out of the delivery room anticipating their first grandchild.
Being hit in the pregnant belly... Not Amazing.

PrincessT & Princess J

PrincessJ (The first enforcer) was born at home. We didn't even own our own home but rented and our midwife came to us with her trainee (doula) who wouldn't let me pee in peace. She was just doing her job, but I didn't know her. I was relieved to push when I wanted but tore in the process. Dang 10lb babies :) She was also sucking her finger and had her lovely elbow in the way and got stuck a bit but we got it done no problems.
Better than the hospital but... Not Amazing.

Lil Dreamy was born at home with the same midwife a few weeks early, too early for me but he was the smallest. Smallest, shmallest he hurt the worst, this guy was posterior (sunny side up). This lovely little position caused me the most back pain equaling what I experience in the hospital. He only weighed 7lbs 7oz and was born one day before Valentine's Day.
He's still my sweet heart, but that was Not Amazing.

Lil Dreamy & The Enforcer2

The Enforcer was born at home and was our first go at unassisted. I was super scared but confident, worried but at ease because I'd done this. I thought, 'I got this.' I did everything I'd done in the past except this time I wanted to let my baby push his way out instead of forcing it. I did so well until the final moments and I felt the head crowning. This guy weighed the same as our first 8lbs 4oz. The momma monster in me pushed that baby out and I tore causing a lovely ER visit later that evening to get stitches from an anti homebirth nazi. She was horrible, let me just say every stitch was NOT sewn in love.
Stitches from a Nazis... Not Amazing.

The PeaceMaker (I hadn't thought of a knickname until now) came into this world mostly on his own. This time I challenged myself to enter a place where I wouldn't get in the way of my own body. It was created to birth and I wasn't going to rush or slow that process down, though I don't know how you could possibly slow it down. With every contraction I breathed, moaned, groaned, and towards the end yelled but never felt pain. This birth was manageable. I love that word manageable, this is the word that will help me define amazing.

Amazing...

• I stayed in control, except for that time I thought hubby rubbing my back would be a good thing.


• I prayed and trusted God that he made my body just for this. I stayed connected to friends and family in between contractions and felt their prayers lifting me up.


• I tuned out everything that was wrong with the other births, other people.
  With Baby #
1. too many visitors, hospital policies, taking a drug to manage a drug, not in control
2. The Hubs and doula were joking and carrying on (I do not like laughing while I'm in pain)
3. I could hear my other kids (more laughing) and loud grandparents (annoyed)
4. Again but in a 2 story home I could hear my other kids (again with the laughing) hubby wasn't near me and nearly missed the entire thing.

So I tuned all of that out with earphones. Voila! I felt like a genius. I turned the volume up as loud as it could go and sung my baby out. With every contraction or wave feeling I first hummed along to the music. Towards the end and when hubby could tell the baby was coming I groaned the baby down. I only pushed when it felt better to, when the groans weren't enough.

I believe this lil guy was also posterior from the way I felt afterwards, he came out so quickly after crowing, no one could confirm his position. Maybe because my body is getting older and I'm now in my thirties I don't recover afterwards as well but I couldn't hold him for a few hours and felt so major pain then. I have to say even though i lost 20lbs in 2011, I'm still carrying a good amount that has messed up my alignment in a major way.

This was an experience I can actually look back on and smile because I now know, I can do this. I'm proud of the process from start to finish and I did everything I could and was rewarded greatly. Every birth I've had an experience I learned from, so really the previous 4 are what makes 5 so Amazing.

And again to the lovely question if we'll have anymore...

ehhhhhh as I shrug my shoulders.

And for the lovely man I've been Makin' Babies with, here's what he has to say about homebirths. It was his idea from the beginning, mind you I was more than willing to pass the torch so he could. But I woman'd up and jumped on this chance to be a light unto the world about a cause that's so dear to me.





PS - I had all intentions of posting this video to motivate myself to jump back on the fitness bandwagon but instead wrote the birth story I've needed to post for the past three and a half months :)

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I'm pregnant and I know it!

Just one more week and we'll meet the newest member of our family. I seriously can not believe the time has finally come. We found out officially in February but of course I knew a bit sooner. That was forever ago and I can't seem to wait these last few days, they're killing me. Today was one of our our EDD (estimated due dates) but everything else has said the 22nd-24th.

I feel like everyone assumes I feel confident in my ability to have babies... I mean this is our 5th. It'll be our 4th Homebirth, and 2nd unassisted and hopefully 2nd waterbirth. Instead of an actual birthing pool we've opted for a small kiddie pool. I really would've loved to have the pool I had here but thanks to someone else's little ones it met it's end last summer.

I guess what I'm most anxious about is keeping my cool the entire time. Is that even possible? After reading this post by Mama Birth over at MamaEve I'm not sure it's has to be. It got me thinking how guilty I've felt that I can't seem to control myself. I lose it right at the end, I panic and think the baby will never come out, it'll be stuck and so I push like crazy to get the whole thing over with. I tore the last time because of this and I've felt it was my fault for not easing the head out.

Hubby has said, "Hon we talked about this before and you were on board." Yes but when it comes down to that time and it's happening I really can't guarantee anything really. I was very proud of my efforts up until the end. I moaned and breathed the baby down like I'd read before hand. I could tell the intensity was rising when my volume would rise and towards the end was pretty much yelling.

I can't say we have a plan, my husband's aunt who's a registered nurse and also like my mother in law, will be on call. This time I almost really want to go it alone, maybe that's the reason I freak out. When other people are around I feel like I'm performing almost or that I will fail if I don't do things right. I don't even have time to feel what should be done because I'm too worried about them. Each birth I can say something really annoyed me making the laboring experience hectic...

The first in the hospital we called everyone we knew telling them it was go time, that my water had broke and we were headed to the hospital. In our ignorance we were so happy and didn't realize what a bad decision that'd be. Everyone showed up at the hospital and waited with us. We had my hubby's mom, aunt (2nd mom), sister, brother in law, grandma, aunt, step father, it was really like a dang zoo but we didn't know any better and toughed it out. My mom was there too eating skittles, mind you I was not allowed to eat, I'd been induced with pitocin then given stadol ruining my plan of an all natural birth. I'm so happy and know we were blessed the situation didn't turn into a c-section like so many induced labors do.

The second we researched up on pitocin, hospital procedures and opted to bring birth home. I found a midwife and wanted a water birth but couldn't afford the pool and didn't think it's work in an apartment. I laid on my back again but was annoyed that hubby and the midwife in training that came along were cracking jokes and not giving me their undivided support. I had my biggest baby to date 10lbs but it was amazing after it was all done.

The third (my hardest) was at home with the same midwife and started all wrong from the beginning. I experienced intense back labor and it lasted quite a bit longer than before which really worried me. Once he was born we saw why things were so difficult, the baby was posterior or face up and had a huge chance of getting stuck in the birth canal.

The fourth we figured we could do this alone plus financially some things had changed with the midwife so about half way through we opted to do it alone DIY style. I think I felt so at ease with everything because I'd done so much research beforehand.

So now you'd think I'd feel at ease about doing this again.... I am and I'm not. I am because I know up until that critical point I'll breath correctly, I'll move and walk around, I'll let my body do what it was built to do. I'm not because I have the feeling the baby maybe sunny side up again or breech. I still believe birth is something you should be able to handle but we/re a culture that has totally lost touch with the process. Pregnant moms almost have only doctors to rely on for the information we seek, doctors and TV.

Can I really expect or hope for a painfree labor? You may think I'm weird but watching birthing stories on youtube calms me in the later weeks. Watching and learning the process gets me ready for what to expect and what to do. It also seems that all the painfree labors happen in water. I can't say my waterbirth was pain free but it def was manageable. They say to use words like surges instead of contractions, intense instead of pain or hurt but that crap hurts. It's not called the ring of fire for nothing. I've been praying for peace, patience with myself and confidence that I'll get it done the right way this time. If I feel like pushing I'm gonna push, I'll try my best to ease and let up a bit for the head but I really can't make any promises.

I can't wait to share my 5th birth story, I didn't mean to turn this into the birth history of Home-Mom.






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We're Expecting...

Great things are coming in 2012 and a baby is one of them. That's right, baby #5 is on the way. Well, has been on the way for almost 11wks now. The responses The Hubs and I have gotten have been all over the place from happy, excited, shocked, saying we're crazy, and even comparing us to the Duggars. I mean really, five is a far cry from twenty, but like Michele Duggar I will never consider myself a Pro when it comes to pregnancy and labor. It's an all new experience each time and I've actually learned a lot each time. I'm even quite certain I can predict gender but it's a bit too early to tell just yet.

Boy or Girl?
With my girls I gained the most weight, swelled up the most, and was very moody. VERY!
With my boys I felt like I was super human most days. I didn't gain as much weight and I felt very active. The day before our youngest was born I was out blowing leaves and raking in the yard for hours.

Miss T wasn't too thrilled at first with the news. She was most concerned with keeping our teams even for the game of the sexes. 5 is an odd number and can't be divided. She's more than happy now and hugs me intermittently throughout the day to say she's glad I make babies and loves me.

Water or no water birth?

Of course I don't care which, I just want a healthy pregnancy, labor, and baby. The plan is to have another homebirth, it'll be my 4th. I got to do an unassisted water birth last time and it did help but I didn't quite feel the epidural effect I was hoping for. The hot water was AMAZING and helped me to relax but I still acted the way I always do, CRAZYily biting every one's head off.




Telling Others...
I was super excited to tell my Mom and close friends of course. To me a baby is good news. No one is excited to share bad news, however it was hard telling some family members. At the heart of it they love me (I think) and know we're responsible parents who can handle all God has called us to. I know they're just pulling from their past personal experiences of hardships and don't want that for us. I get it, I do. In my perfect little world I just wish I could feel more open in sharing things that matter most with people that matter the most to me. For everyone else I wouldn't mind wearing one of these shirts...

and for the infamous Question I'll wear this one.


but I'd change it around to say,
"Yes, I know what causes this"


Can't leave hubby out of this one :)


I especially love his announcement on facebook this week...

"For all those who haven't already heard: (In a Don LaFontaine movie trailer voice) 

Coming this fall... In a world where there is a perfect gender balance, where the boys don't outnumber the girls, one person will break the equilibrium that is the our household... 

Get ready for the scales to be tipped because in September the world will meet... 

baby #5."

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DIY Water-Birth: Midwife not Included

I received a discount from YourWaterBirth.com for the purpose of this review. However all opinions expressed are my own.

It's about time I share my latest birth story with you, since youre' my blog friends and all. It's been seven months and that's one long past due review. I had a DIY HomeBirh. Also called an Unassisted Birth, Unassisted Home Birth, FreeBirth, but they all mean the same thing. I had my baby at home Do-It-Yourself style, without a midwife. I know that freaks some of you out already. I was freaked out too 5 years ago before I started rethinking the traditional birth process. To tell you the absolute truth I was initially motivated by money, or I should say the lack of it. Comparatively speaking birthing at home would be a whopping 80% Off the hospital's costs. I'll go more into that in a later post, I promise.

R- pT born in the hospital 2004 L- pj born at home 2006	lil D born at home 2009	lil turkey born at home 2010

I've had 3 homebirths in total. The first 2 were delivered by a midwife and by most would've been considered high risk. princessJ was a whopping 10lbs and got stuck a bit and lil Dreamy was posteior who could have got stuck more than a bit. The midwife we had has had more experience then most doctors in the Oklahoma/Texas area. It was easy relying on her to help us. But with our last son we weren't able to workout a sufficient payment plan like we had before and were faced with the Unassisted option.

I don't want to seem rude in anyway, our previous midwife did and continues to do a wonderful job and loves what she does, but I did feel put out. Once I got to thinking about her services they were pretty much the same as a doctor. In short we were paying for peace of mind. Paying to have an expert walk us through something my body if healthy could do all on it's own.

Don't get me wrong, to have peace about what you're doing makes a world of difference in any decision. In the beginning I didn't have peace, instead I had stress. I cried and felt pushed into a situation I didn't get to fully think out and choose myself. I prayed, researched, and read every bible verse on pregnancy and labor I could. Then I prayed and researched again. I returned back to my first homebirth dream, WaterBirth.

Why Water? Water is said to be nature's epidural. I can't say while in active labor I've never screamed asked for an epidural, but I believe their affects are more harmful than they are helpful. I'm not willing to take that particular risk with my body. Signing a waiver that states I may be paralyzed for the rest of my life, I think I'll pass. Having a water birth has been a dream of mine since I found out I was pregnant with pJ 5 years ago. Now that we had our own home I knew I wanted to try. What could be worse? If anything it would be easier.

I needed some supplies. Feeling tight on cash I did what I do best, I started looking for sponsors. On October 11th, one month before lil Turkey would make his debut Debra Nelson Thorpe, Owner of YourWaterBirth and Midwife, jumped aboard and truly saved me. I not only received this...

La Bassine ® Pool with Custom Fit Liner

With a
Birthing Budget of $300 we purchaseda ...
 

Pool, Pool Liner, Pump, Hose, Hose adaptor, VHS tables,

all our supplies ended up right on budget. 
Birthing Kit not pictured.

Debra also threw in a few VHStapes.

(with over 10 births) Such a comfort.

I purchased the same birthing materials such as sutures, pads, gloves, etc from the same site my former midwife used. After that we just played the waiting game.


My little guy got here 2 weeks early,
luckily it only took 30min to blow up my pool with the pump and fill it with room temperature water. It took us over an hour because I'd used up all the hot water earlier that morning. Silly me, what on earth was I thinking.


Later that day I got this guy. My pregnancy and his birth weren't planned the way I wanted but I got more than I could have dreamed. His birth was both beautiful and miraculous.

I was so exhausted if you can imagine, yet he looks so peaceful at Home on Mom's shoulder

The pool has not lost it's value!

pT (missing 4 teeth)          lil D (stud muffin)                pJ (my lion) 

I now use our 'pool' to keep my peeps cool. 

The pool is temporary, so over time it will break down. A lot of people will sale their pools to another mother or even midwife who will get more than just once use from it. I thought of doing that but never got around to it.

Big, big thanks to Debra. Without her offer I might not have had enough resources to make my birthing dream come true. Will we have more babies? That seems to be the $Million Question. As of yet the answer is...

ehh

(as I shrug)

I highly recommend YourWaterBirth if you considering a homebirth. Of all the sites I stumbled upon theirs is the most organized and great customer service is always an added bonus.

The products mentioned in this post written here were provided by:YourWaterBirth for the purpose of this review. I was not compensated in any other way and all opinions made are mine: Christy, Home-Mom.

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Introducing: Mr. Dreamy

Iwill never profess to be intriguing when it comes to captivating attention with my posts or anything I do really. I just don't think I have that ability. There are a few people that I know that do or at least they captivate me. One of which is my wonderful husband and best friend Nick Hayhurst.

We as a family have chosen homebirth as our way of bringing babies into this world. The main reason we even ventured down this particular road was because of finances. Then in just made since. Our last homebirth was a bit different in that we zero assistance from a midwife and delivered what some call a "free birth" or "unassisted birth". Below is a link and excerpt from my hubby's blog explaining our views.

The title is actually misleading, but "Makin' Babies" sounds cooler than "Delivering Babies". Now that all the pervs have navigated away from this page in disappointment, let's begin. From a father’s perspective, I want to address some criticism that we encountered regarding home births. Hopefully this can also be informative and encouraging to people who are uninformed, yet interested. This dissertation will be a delicious blend of satire and valuable information-- and hopefully I can throw in a dash of facts every now and then.

...read more.

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